Automation systems for controlling a technical process or a technical installation can include a central control unit. The central control unit communicates with the input/output units and/or field devices of the automation system via a communication interface module (also referred to as a gateway device). In this case, the gateway device makes it possible for field buses of different protocols to communicate.
In case high-speed Ethernet buses are used in process automation at the guidance system level, the gateway device operates as a mediation element between the guidance system level, at which the data are transmitted at transmission rates of 10 Mbits/s, and the field level, at which communication, for example for field bus protocols, is effected at a transmission rate of 1.2 kbits/s. Whereas the gateway device has the function of a slave at the guidance system level, it has the function of a master at the field level.
The gateway devices used in automation or control systems can be connected to the superordinate control unit via a first bus and communicate with the field devices via a second bus. For communication between field bus systems which process different protocols, the gateway device communicates with the central control unit using an Ethernet-based or Profinet protocol, for example, and communicates with input/output devices and/or field devices connected thereto using a field bus protocol, for example, CAN (Controller Area Network) or CANopen.
So that the inputs and outputs of the system hardware can be addressed, the devices used in the system must be configured and parameterized according to the respective customer-specific requirements. The parameterization and configuration method is described in IEC 61131-3, for example.
In order to configure and parameterize a field device, provision is made for a device description file which is transmitted to the field device. The device description file includes, for example, device-specific information for drives, instrumentation for positioning states, pressure, temperature and/or flow rate measurements and low-voltage switchgear as well as functionalities of the field devices which relate to the entire life-cycle of the devices.
The devices connected to the gateway device can be parameterized using additional interfaces which are integrated in the gateway device and are configured and parameterized using a user program, for example.
For this purpose, serial interfaces which can be in the form of RS232, /RS422 and/or RS485 interfaces, for example, are provided in the gateway device and are used to load the device description files containing the corresponding parameters into the flash memory of the gateway device, for example. The gateway device can also be connected, via a USB interface, to a computer which can be used to parameterize the field devices.
However, complete parameterization of the field devices connected to the gateway device is not provided via the first high-performance Ethernet bus or Profibus.